I just got a big nassarius snail for my new (3 mos) 40g tank to take care of uneaten food. It's fowlr and the nitrates are about 30-40ppm. Is that going to bother the snail? I put in some Purigen today and run a skimmer. Dry rock and dry sand are probably live by now. Is he going to be ok? He's already buried himself in the sand so it's hard to tell. LFS store said a short acclimation was ok. Any advice is welcome!

I just got a big nassarius snail for my new (3 mos) 40g tank to take care of uneaten food. It's fowlr and the nitrates are about 30-40ppm. Is that going to bother the snail? I put in some Purigen today and run a skimmer. Dry rock and dry sand are probably live by now. Is he going to be ok? He's already buried himself in the sand so it's hard to tell. LFS store said a short acclimation was ok. Any advice is welcome!

Click to expand...

I think that is a pretty high level of nitrates (much higher than what all the "experts" recommend) and even though not everyone agrees about the levels that inverts can tolerate, I would recommend that you continue to take action to reduce them: don't overfeed, more frequent water changes, stimulate bacteria growth if necessary, consider carbon dosing, etc. Live rock and sand, Purigen will all help as you know.

If nothing else lowering nitrates mitigates algae blooms, etc. I have run "dirty" tanks with nitrate levels as high as yours and didn't lose any inverts in the near term, but don't know if that is typical. Better safe than sorry in reefing is what I have finally learned.

I think that is a pretty high level of nitrates (much higher than what all the "experts" recommend) and even though not everyone agrees about the levels that inverts can tolerate, I would recommend that you continue to take action to reduce them: don't overfeed, more frequent water changes, stimulate bacteria growth if necessary, consider carbon dosing, etc. Live rock and sand, Purigen will all help as you know.

If nothing else lowering nitrates mitigates algae blooms, etc. I have run "dirty" tanks with nitrate levels as high as yours and didn't lose any inverts in the near term, but don't know if that is typical. Better safe than sorry in reefing is what I have finally learned.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I know they're high. It is fowlr and the level is leftover from the cycle. They got up to 60-80 then and with a 50% w/c I got them down. The tank won't have coral for a while. I'll continue to do water changes. Luckily there's no algae out break because the tank doesn't have lights yet. I plan to keep it at about 20ppm while it's fowlr then lower it to 10 when I start with softies and LPS. But that's a long ways away! I still want to save up for an Apex and an ATI dimmable T-5 fixture. As they say, slow is the way to go. But back to Gary the snail. Will he be ok while I bring the nitrates down? He's totally buried in the sand, so how will I know?

I think that is a pretty high level of nitrates (much higher than what all the "experts" recommend) and even though not everyone agrees about the levels that inverts can tolerate, I would recommend that you continue to take action to reduce them: don't overfeed, more frequent water changes, stimulate bacteria growth if necessary, consider carbon dosing, etc. Live rock and sand, Purigen will all help as you know.

If nothing else lowering nitrates mitigates algae blooms, etc. I have run "dirty" tanks with nitrate levels as high as yours and didn't lose any inverts in the near term, but don't know if that is typical. Better safe than sorry in reefing is what I have finally learned.

Click to expand...

Ps- I started the tank with dry rock and dry sand, so that's part of the problem. The fish are just fine, but I know the rock is still in the process of becoming live. Hopefully that will help too.

Thanks. I know they're high. It is fowlr and the level is leftover from the cycle. They got up to 60-80 then and with a 50% w/c I got them down. The tank won't have coral for a while. I'll continue to do water changes. Luckily there's no algae out break because the tank doesn't have lights yet. I plan to keep it at about 20ppm while it's fowlr then lower it to 10 when I start with softies and LPS. But that's a long ways away! I still want to save up for an Apex and an ATI dimmable T-5 fixture. As they say, slow is the way to go. But back to Gary the snail. Will he be ok while I bring the nitrates down? He's totally buried in the sand, so how will I know?

Click to expand...

Sounds good; I would think he'll be fine given the direction you have the nitrates going. What about turning off the filters and squirting a little "juice" from frozen mysis around the bottom to see if you can make him come out? I know you don't want to overfeed, and, if he's healthy he'll come out when he senses food.

Sounds good; I would think he'll be fine given the direction you have the nitrates going. What about turning off the filters and squirting a little "juice" from frozen mysis around the bottom to see if you can make him come out? I know you don't want to overfeed, and, if he's healthy he'll come out when he senses food.

Good luck

Click to expand...

I moved him and now he's only half buried. I'll leave him alone and try to feed him. Thanks for your help!